Parenting Teens: Cell Phones & Teen Anxiety

I have been thinking a lot about teens and their cell phones lately. I have observed many groups of teens hanging around together and speaking on their cell phones rather than to one another. I always ask myself why this is the case. Shouldn’t they be talking to each other? Just today-I came up with an idea about this that makes sense to me and other parents that I have spoken to about this topic.

Teens may be using their cell phones as a way to reduce social anxiety. Anxious about what to talk to peers about then make a phone call instead. Feeling left out of a group then text someone so you don’t feel so lonely. The cell phone has, in my opinion, come to serve many purposes including not only quick communication but also as an anxiety reducer.